More than 50 students and teachers died; 99 schools cannot teach

The Ministry of Education and Training said that storm No. 3 (Yagi) and its circulation have caused serious damage to people and property in many northern mountainous provinces.

Damage caused by storm No. 3: More than 50 students and teachers died; 99 schools still cannot teach. (Source: Lao Cai Provincial Police)

The Ministry of Education and Training has just reported information on the damage caused by storm No. 3 and its circulation to the education sector.

The Ministry of Education and Training said that storm No. 3 (Yagi) and its circulation caused serious damage to people and property in many northern mountainous provinces and the Red River Delta, the education sector suffered very heavy losses. According to reports from localities, many teachers and students died and went missing; many school buildings collapsed, collapsed, and had their roofs blown off; teaching equipment, desks, chairs, and books were swept away and severely damaged.

Heavy damage caused by storms and storm circulation

The Ministry of Education and Training said that according to reports from localities, up to now, 52 students and children have died, 3 students are missing, 8 students are injured; 3 teachers have died, 1 teacher is missing.

Specifically, the students and children who died include the following provinces: Cao Bang (6 students); Lao Cai (35 students, including 1 from Van Ban district; 2 from Simacai district; 24 from Bao Yen district; 3 from Bat Xat district; 5 from Bac Ha district); Yen Bai (9 students, including 2 from Luc Yen district, 1 from Van Chan district, 1 from Van Yen district, 4 from Yen Bai city, 1 from Hoang Van Thu high school); Thai Nguyen (2 children).

Students and children missing in Lao Cai (1 5th grade student of Ngai Thau Primary and Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities missing due to landslide at home; 2 children of A Lu Kindergarten missing and unable to be contacted due to landslide).

The injured students are from the following provinces: Quang Ninh (1 student at Suoi Khoang Secondary School - Cam Pha); Cao Bang (1 second grade student in Lung Ly, Ca Thanh); Lao Cai (6 injured students from Phuc Khanh commune are being treated at Bao Yen District General Hospital).

Teachers who died and went missing include the following provinces: Cao Bang (1 male teacher died and 1 female teacher went missing); Yen Bai (2 teachers died due to landslides).

The storm and its circulation caused extensive damage to facilities and teaching equipment. Due to heavy rain and strong winds, many educational facilities in the provinces and cities in the mountainous regions of the North and Northeast (including Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Hanoi, Bac Giang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Hai Duong) were deeply flooded, classrooms had their roofs blown off, many buildings collapsed, and glass was broken; teaching equipment and students' school supplies were washed away and damaged by water.

The Ministry of Education and Training has directed localities to continue to urgently focus on reviewing and assessing the damage, synthesizing reports to propose competent authorities to support funding to overcome the consequences. Currently, localities are in the process of making detailed statistics on damage to classrooms and teaching equipment.

According to initial reports, many schools were flooded, many computers, classroom equipment, and student desks and chairs were severely damaged, making them difficult to repair. In many provinces and cities, students' textbooks were washed away or damaged, making them unusable.

According to the latest statistics, in Yen Bai province alone, nearly 20,000 students lost or damaged textbooks, and the cost to buy textbooks is estimated at over 9 billion VND.

99 schools/school locations in 6 provinces cannot teach

Regarding preparations for students to return to school, the Ministry of Education and Training said that according to reports from 23/27 provinces and cities, water is gradually receding and educational institutions are mobilizing all management staff, teachers, parents, military forces, and local police to clean, sanitize, and disinfect classrooms to resume teaching and learning from September 16.

However, there are still 99 schools/school locations in 6 provinces that cannot teach because the water has not completely receded, including: Lao Cai (83 schools/school locations), Cao Bang (1 school), Bac Kan (3 schools), Tuyen Quang (1 school), Yen Bai (3 schools), Bac Giang (8 schools).

On September 11, the Ministry of Education and Training and the Vietnam Education Trade Union launched a campaign for the education sector to support people affected by storm No. 3. Initial results included receiving more than VND 8 billion in cash and VND 3.5 billion in kind (school supplies, notebooks).

On September 13, the Ministry of Education and Training met with the United Nations Children's Fund in Vietnam and other international organizations. The organizations pledged to mobilize at least 4.05 million USD to support the education sector with food, drinks, textbooks, and school supplies for students.

On September 14-15, the Ministry of Education and Training organized three working groups led by the Ministry's leaders to inspect the work of overcoming consequences and giving gifts from mobilized funding to the provinces: Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, Cao Bang, Lang Son.

Following the direction of the Ministry of Education and Training, publishers have actively supported students in flood-affected areas: donating 2,000 sets of books; mobilizing 12.5 million copies of books in stock; proposing to print 10 million additional copies; donating 719 million VND to the Vietnam Education Trade Union; mobilizing contributions from salaries to the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of 124 million VND.

Up to now, the Ministry of Education and Training and the Vietnam Education Trade Union continue to call for and mobilize funding to support students.

Regarding solutions to overcome the consequences and support the industry, the Ministry of Education and Training directed publishers to prepare textbook supplies for localities affected by the storm, ensuring that learning is not interrupted. At the same time, it called for support from publishers, organizations and individuals to sponsor textbooks for students.

The Ministry requested the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee to prioritize funding for the education sector when allocating donations to promptly repair and restore damaged structures, purchase equipment and supplies for students, and contribute to ensuring learning conditions for them to return to school soon. At the same time, strengthen conditions to ensure the quality of education in localities damaged by storms.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/thiet-hai-do-bao-so-3-hon-50-hoc-sinh-giao-vien-tu-vong-99-diem-truong-chua-the-day-hoc-286518.html